Presidential

11.14.11

Obama Speaks Out on Waterboarding

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

One of the signature debates of the Bush years is apparently back: President Obama said on Sunday that he believes waterboarding is “torture” and “contrary to American traditions,” one day after a GOP debate in which only two candidates said they disagreed with the practice. While Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman said they’d outlaw waterboarding, the rest of the GOP field approved of so-called enhanced-interrogation techniques, with Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann both saying they’d specifically bring waterboarding back. "This is war," Perry said in announcing his approval of the practice. "That's what happens in war.”